A PIONEERING programme to help cure victims of phobias – including the fear of bagpipes – has been launched on Merseyside.

The Whitenburgh Stress Clinic, in Rodney Street, Liverpool, says its phobia – busting service is the first of its kind in Britain.

Psychoanalyst and clinic head Michael Whitenburgh is offering permanent cures to adults and children who suffer from common phobias, including fear of flying and a terror of spiders.

Among the more unusual patients the clinic has pledged to cure is a woman who has been plagued for years by an irrational fear of bagpipes.

Mr Whitenburgh is also aiming to help victims of claustrophobia and agoraphobia conquer their disabling fears.

Treatment is drug -  free and counsellors and psychoanalysts use relaxation techniques to root out the deep – seated causes of patients` phobias, before tackling them.

The single 50- minute session at the clinic costs about £65, but Mr Whitenburgh, who also runs a stress clinic in London’s Harley Street, says many phobias can be cured effectively within that time.

He said: “This is a unique clinic. Nowhere else in the country is treating phobias.

“The day I come across a phobia I cannot cure will be the day I resign.”